Author: onemodernmomblog

A young mom from Cape Town, South Africa. Mommy to a busy little boy. I crush on anything simplistic, modern and stylish for my dude. Co-owner of an eco-friendly baby & kids clothing line - Earthlings Kids.

As a child, I remember sugar and sweet treats predominantly being party food. Dessert consisted of peaches and ice cream or jelly and custard, once a week. It wasn’t a privilege, it was a luxury. Something we knew not to even bother asking about. We knew when it was allowed.

Fast forward to 2018. Lunch boxes are packed with treats and snacks packed with sugar. Schools have to send notes home to parents requesting for junk food to NOT be sent in their lunch boxes. I see families out with their young kids with fizzy drinks bubbling away in their juice bottles. What is the world coming to?

Sugar doesn’t full a child’s stomach.
It doesn’t feed their brains.
It feeds cancer cells.
It creates obesity.
Sugar is an addiction.

Feeding your kids wholesome foods and keeping sugary treats for parties, and special occasions is not depriving them. It is doing them a favour. Providing your child’s body with goodness is one of the best things you can do for them.

I’ve heard many parents saying that it is easier for them (perhaps working parents) to just throw a couple of snacks into a lunchbox because they don’t have time to prepare lunches. I don’t agree! This post was created for those parents. It is possible to choose healthier alternatives to junk food.

Here’s my list featured in the photos:

– Rice Crackers (the ones without any flavouring – avoid the ones that are covered in a powdery flavouring). My son also loved the ones covered in carob and yoghurt as a toddler.
– Droerwors (I buy a few sticks, and then just break the longer strips into about ¾ pieces. This goes a long way!)
– Dried fruit (Again, I buy a big pack, and only put 2-3 pieces into his lunchbox – remember, even when feeding your child healthy snacks – it’s about portion control).
– Berries/fruit (I wouldn’t usually add both fruit and dried fruit into his lunchbox on the same day, but just wanted to show options).
– Animal crackers (I buy them from Woolies, they’re plain with no flavouring).
– Baby Tomatoes / Baby Carrots / Cucumber

#Ceresfruitjuice challenged me to creating three nutrient packed lunches for Olly over three weeks. Less sugar – more goodness relating it to the new lunch box solution – Ceres Fruit & Water Swirl.

They have already diluted the juice with water meaning that there is no fuss and no arguments with the tiny humans. They taste delicious, and are perfect for party packs, outings, and school lunch boxes. I’ve seen the difference in my 3 year olds behavior and attention span when unnatural sugars are eliminated from his daily diet.

A little boy feels lonely. He wonders what it would be like to find a little girl to befriend and love.

He sees a shape in the distance, and notices beautiful long hair dancing in the breeze, golden – having been caught by the sunlight. She’s coming towards him. Her frilly white dress swaying as she runs in his direction.

And, in a moment, she stands there. As if she had been there all along. It all felt normal. She belonged. Just as beautiful as he had imagined.

He finally, for the first time truly felt complete. Just having her around, even without having to exchange words – they were just meant to be friends.

For the rest of their lives, they enjoyed summer afternoons picnicking and being in their favourite place – where they met.

He always treated her like the princess she was.

He loved her for her imperfections, for he believed that that was what made her perfect. And that, that is the truest form of love.

Valentines Day can be a day of expectations and disappointment. In my own personal opinion, it is a money making day for businesses. However, it’s difficult to not find yourself feeling somewhat jealous or upset when you log onto social media and scroll down post after post of couples who are having romantic days.

Money is tight for many, and this day can creep up on us very suddenly. We realize that we haven’t had a chance to go out and buy some special gift for our other half. It hits us – ‘he’s going to be so disappointed’, or ‘he’s going to be so sad when he realizes I haven’t made an effort’.

This is where I am stepping in – loving another person isn’t shown through materialistic gifts you can give to them. It isn’t shown by the amount of money you can spend.

So, I decided that I would share some romantic Valentines Day ideas with you, that won’t have you rushing out to the store, won’t have you wasting your hard earned money and that may also change your mindset on what the day is actually about.

Set up a picnic in your garden, in your lounge or at your favourite outdoor place – because Valentines Day is in summer here in South Africa, it means that there is still plenty of light after work hours. Make dinner, as you would usually – perhaps some finger foods and set up a pretty picnic outside. Put on your favourite music, and just enjoy having some time together.

Sundowners – always a hit! Take a drive to a place nearby that means something to the two of you as a couple. I love Chapmans Peak, but there are so many beautiful places to watch the sunset, have a drink and just spend some time investing in one another. There is nothing more peaceful than being outdoors surrounded by nature and each other.

Go for a walk on the beach, grab an ice cream and a takeaway coffee, and just spend some time together chatting. It won’t cost you more than R100, and you’re more likely to actually spend time chatting, unlike when you’re in a busy restaurant.

Netflix & Chill – it’s a real thing. Find a series or good movie to watch together, order in some takeaways and just enjoy being in each others presence. There’s nothing that reminds me more of when hubby and I first met than takeaway Chinese food and a funny series. This may even take you for a little walk down memory lane – and probably also more suitable for parents that aren’t able to escape for an evening.

If you’re more of a sentimental couple – perhaps put together a few photographic memories in a special book. Something that you can update as the years go by. I did a little boudoir shoot for hubby last year, and put them into a book that was something special for his eyes only. It barely cost me anything, and effort is always appreciated.

If you’d like to go out for dinner, suggest that you push your Valentines Day to a different day – all restaurants take advantage of the day, and it is totally overpriced! So, change the day, and go to your favourite restaurant or a new place you’d like to try on another day instead.

Can’t escape the kids? Set something special up for them to enjoy and keep them entertained too. Maybe a special movie and snacks for them, while the two of you can have some quality time together. It is possible.

Put on some sexy lingerie, that you already own. New or old lingerie doesn’t mean anything to a man when he’s looking at his woman with hardly any clothes on! Have confidence in your body, just the way it is and enjoy having some intimacy with your other half. This is so important, and it is something that can be put to the bottom of the priority list for so many couples, especially after you have kids.

Make him something instead. Rather than going out and buying an overpriced box of chocolates – check out how to make your own on Pinterest. There are always such great ideas, that WORK. I always appreciate a little bit of effort, even when it is sometimes a flop.

Take the time to write them a special letter telling them how much you appreciate them and all that they do for you. Whether it is long or short, even if you aren’t good at expressing yourself, a letter is something that catches so many off guard – in a good way! Put your thoughts and your wishes for the future onto a piece of paper, instead of an overpriced store bought card that hundreds of others have bought too.

That being said, I hate that a day of love is even out there. That something as important, intimate and fragile as love has become commercialized. Couples should treat each other with love every single day. One day should never make somebody feel worthless because they are unable to buy an overpriced bouquet of flowers for their wife or girlfriend or a silly card and chocolates for their man. For those of you that do this – good on you! But, I just feel that it can be a day that is incredibly hard for so many, and making others feel that they aren’t good enough because perhaps they don’t have the budget for a day like this, isn’t fair.

So, I hope that my suggestions shed some light on the day from my perspective. I also hope that some of you found a little spark in my ideas. Just love your partner, put down your phones, computers, and switch off the TV and just take time to listen to them. Talk. Laugh and enjoy your time with one another. That is what is most important. Getting to know the person who you are going through life with.

When my three and a half year old son returns from school, I often find myself feeling rather uninspired by what to give him for lunch. Sometimes he’s so exhausted when he gets home that he goes straight to his bed for a nap, but other times he’s starving.

It was actually great to be challenged by Ceres to create a nutritious lunch for him, which has really made me think out of the box. What he eats for lunch AFTER school, is just as important as what I put in his lunch box. It needs to fuel his brain and give him energy for the rest of the day. I often find that when he has junk – his attention span goes from 10-1 in the blink of an eye and the tantrums begin. My son really is sensitive to sugar, and as he gets older I notice it more.

He thrives from wholesome food and meals that are packed with nutrition. Being a growing boy, he needs to be fed food that is healthy rather than food that has been processed. I’ve often said that you know you’ve done a healthy grocery shop when you haven’t gone down any of the middle aisles of the grocery store, simply sticking to the bordering aisles which are home to all the fresh food.

He squealed with delight when he saw his dinosaur themed lunch – it was amazing watching him remain calm while eating, and being able to wind down because there was no junk. Had I added any sugary treats or junk, he would have wound up and become wild instead. I do believe that when their food has created to be appealing to the eye, even the fussier kids are more likely to eat it. Perhaps decide on a weekly theme with your little ones to keep things exciting!

I also love being able to simply grab one of the new Ceres Fruit and Water Swirl juice boxes to add to his lunch. Keeping hydrated, especially in this hot, dry weather that Cape Town is handing us, I love that these are diluted with water too. As good as fruit juice tastes on a hot day, as well as the natural sugar giving us the energy that we need, the water is really what quenches our thirst. Again, instead of having to add water myself to dilute his juice, it has already been done for us! This specific one featured – Fruit Punch has 50% less sugar that Ceres 100% Medley of Fruit. This is phenomenal for our little people. Giving them just the right proportions of each.

It is boiling hot in Cape Town today, and instead of giving my son ice cream to cool him down and as a treat, we will instead be enjoying fun ice lollies made from these juice boxes!

Kids are so sensitive to sugar and they don’t understand why they are feeling hyped up, or feeling strange because of their energy crashing down after the sugar high wears off. And we often take our frustration of not understanding why they are behaving differently out on them. I’ve seen how sugar affects my son, it always has. It isn’t a pretty site. And I am learning to keep junk food out of the house which means that it is kept sacred for parties and special occasions. So, I really do love that Ceres has launched this new Fruit and Water Swirl which is just an extra helping hand to us moms to limit the sugar intake for our kids. Keeping their bodies as well as teeth healthier.

I would love for you to share your thoughts with me, telling me how you control your childs sugar intake. And I will choose one of you who I will send a pack of the Ceres Fruit and Water Swirl 6 packs to to try for yourself!

So what is it that you actually want? I wanted to take a moment to get very real with some thoughts that have been crossing my mind lately. I’m not pointing fingers at anybody in particular, but I do find that situations accumulate to the point where something needs to be said.

I work with brands and businesses, big and small. Local and international. Each company I work with seems to have a different view on how things work when working with/collaborating with a blogger or an influencer. So, let me make it easy for everyone to understand.

When you request to work with me, I will always respond accordingly with my media kit and rate card. Stated in these documents, which I have spent a lot of time and thought compiling for you – is everything you need to know as to how I work, how payments need to be made, and regarding what you will receive from me. I also state what I require from you, as the business owner, or PR agency. Just as you expect for me to stick to my end of the deal – I expect the same from you.

When a company agrees to send you product, please do not send me the sample to keep. Something that has been passed on from one person to another over a long period of time. That’s basically like me copying and pasting a review that I have previously written for somebody else. I do believe that I have standards, and that I deserve to review and keep a product that has been made with love and that, for example, isn’t stained or chipped, or faded.

If you are a PR company, send me a press release that I get closure from at the end. Some press releases are so open ended, I don’t know if you are just wanting me to copy and paste the info, which means that there is no monetary value, (which I will then ignore), or if you are wanting me to attend an event, therefore, please give me more information. I understand that many of you are sending in bulk, but take a moment to personalize it which will mean that I am more willing to do something with that information.

Please stop just expecting. My content is created with many weeks or months of planning. Nothing happens over night. I work with a handful of photographers only. They have a high standard of work. I will not just simply send you all of the images. Again, if we have made a verbal or written agreement that you will get (x) amount of edited images from a shoot, this will happen. BUT, then be sure to tag and credit all relevant parties, and do not go off and crop or edit the images the way you want it/or to just show your product. This is ruining the photo. You may as well take a permanent marker to a painting or piece of artwork in your home, because these images have been created by a team of creatives. They are worth money.

Don’t go behind my back and use my images. If you love a photo which may feature one of your products, (I spend a lot of money buying products to complete a photo/story I am working on), that makes them mine. I own it. Just because I am a blogger doesn’t mean I am entitled to tag you. This also means that the photograph belongs to me. You can send me a message to request using the photo, which I may or may not agree to.

My son. He is little and precious, and I am not always happy having companies reshare or post photographs on him. So, unless I send you a photo of him – please do not use photographs of him without my permission.

After almost 4 years of blogging, I have come to the point where I do predominantly take on paid work only. This does not mean that I take on everything that comes my way. I firmly believe in working with and associating myself with brands that are authentic to I am as an individual as well as to what my family stands for. However, please do respect me, as well as my standard of work by requesting my rate card and media kit if you would like to work with me.

If you do not have the budget to work with me/have received my rate card and would prefer not to work with me – then please be respectable enough to just respond and thank me for my time. I feel that mutual respect moves mountains.

DO NOT ask to send me something without even having requested my rate card or media kit and then send me 500 messages asking me when I will be reviewing/photographing/posting about it. That is not the agreement. If I love it enough, I may mention it. But, I do not work this way. Don’t be sneaky by pretending to be kind and sending me something when you are just trying to get free marketing. It isn’t happening. Don’t be cheap.

Lastly, if you are a company/PR agency who is sending me a product to review, please don’t tell me that it will be delivered on a certain day and then not keep in touch with me if it doesn’t get sent that day. I do have to shift things around to make sure that myself or somebody else is home in that specific time frame to sign for it.

That is just a list of things I know that many influencers and bloggers feel. Just as many companies often feel used by a handful of bloggers, we often also find ourselves feeling used and expected a lot of for nothing in exchange.

Please be mindful of the above when choosing to work with me. I do not expect a lot, but I do expect respect. I put my all into everything I do, and always fulfill what I promise a brand.

Thank you for taking the time to read through these things, and I hope to work with some of you in the near future!

Goodness Gracious! Where do I even begin?
When David and I moved in together back in 2012, we didn’t have a large budget for going on a wild shopping spree to purchase new appliances and household items.
But, with me moving in straight from my parents home, and him moving from sharing a place with a friend, we were basically starting from scratch.

Cue, family members from all over wanting to do their part by handing down an old appliance or some ‘must-have’ pots and pans that were, quite frankly long past their life expectancy. For the past few years we have been using an ancient Convection Microwave, BUT, the one time I did use the convection, I swore to never use it again!

My mom is an avid baker. She swears by her convection oven for 99% of her baking. As we grew up, our birthday cakes and any other baked goods were religiously done in that oven. I only realized just how much of a lifesaver that was when I became a mom, AND when we started having to cover our own electricity bills.

When LG contacted me about their Neochef Microwave Oven with Smart Inverter Technology, I just knew I had to have it. With the chic, minimalistic design, which is such a lovely size (in comparison to our previous one that took up our entire counter top), and the fact that they have incorporated a range of hygiene-enhancing features, including Anti-Bacterial EasyClean which helps users keep their ovens clean and fresh is just a total win.

I can already see the how simple meal time has become in my home. I’m looking forward to see our electricity bill at the end of the month to see how much of an impact not using a normal oven has made. This is a phenomenal appliance for somebody who lives in a small, limited space to own – you won’t need to find space for a bulky oven!
I love that they have designed this elegant LG NeoChef to not only deliver the ultimate precision and user-convenience, but to seamlessly blend in with the décor of any kitchen!

I’ve officially and successfully defrosted, microwaved and used the convection oven so far. And I am hooked. They have advertised the LG NeoChef by saying: ‘There’s no cooking job the LG NeoChef can’t handle’, and so far it has lived up to its word.

I must admit that I am a bit useless with some appliances, and I am so grateful to have David around to help me navigate how to set them up, and how exactly to use them – but I have had a wonderful experience with how easy this one in particular is to use. I’ve mostly figured it out myself, and the book that comes with it really lays it all out very well. They also have a phenomenal, information packed video that one can revert to. View here: http://www.lg.com/us/kitchen/discovercooking/countertop-microwave-ovens
Here’s to some delicious meals, some baked goods for upcoming special occasions and just making life as a mom easier altogether!

As moms, many of us find that part of our household responsibility is doing the grocery shopping. We make most of the decisions as to what we will be putting in our children’s lunch boxes – ensuring that they have energy and are well fed. Either us or our child’s carer will prepare meals for them when they return from school, but generally influenced by us.

We are officially back into the swing of things with our kids back at school. And, when better a time to start a healthy routine for your kids than now? In the beginning of the first term.

Something I am a firm believer in is keeping my toddlers lunch boxes free of any junk food. I like to only put fresh food in his lunch box, which means that I avoid anything that has been processed. In fact, one of the reasons I chose the school that he goes to is because of their strict lunchbox guidelines.

Ceres challenged me to prepare nutritional lunches for my son. This was a simple task for me, because it is an honest post from my side as we always prepare healthy lunches that are sent to school with him. I truly do believe that sugar does nothing for a child. Kids need food that will feed their brains, keeping them awake, alert and eager to learn. Sugar gives a child an unhealthy high that leaves them crashing in record breaking time.

I don’t know about you, but I have always diluted Olly’s fruit juice with water. It’s a 50/50 ratio of water to juice. I do sometimes find it challenging, especially with the water crisis in Cape Town – we are either running short of bottled water, or the bottle is so big that I end up spilling half of it when adding it to his juice bottle. But now, Ceres has launched a brand-new Fruit and Water Swirl juice box in three flavours!

– Apple

– Raspberry & Apple

– Fruit Punch

Tasting them myself, I could really taste just how diluted they have made them – which is great! I love that I can send fruit juice with him to school that is exactly how I would have done it myself. They really are the perfect lunchbox solution! I love that it still has the same taste, but with less sugar! I feel that many parents get lazy and just allow their kids to drink juice because of the ‘effort’ it takes to dilute it.

I was curious to see my three and a half year old sons reaction to the new Ceres Fruit and Water Swirl options, because when he does occasionally get juice boxes, they aren’t diluted which I have no control over. However, he just loved it and didn’t seem at all phased by the ‘change in taste’. I now feel better knowing that if we are rushing out of the house, I can just grab a juice box without cringing at knowing that I haven’t had the opportunity to dilute it.

I want to challenge you to contribute to this conversation by telling me how you control your childs sugar intake. I will send one reader who has commented a 6 pack of Ceres Fruit and Water Swirl in the flavor of their choice to try.

It may be one of the most used and dreaded words in a mothers dictionary. A chore that is unforgiving of us if we have had a busy or bad day. And a ‘gift that keeps on giving.’

If only I had the time to tell you the stories of the washing machines I’ve had in my short life after having left home and moving in with my partner. But, I will save you the stress. We had never actually purchased a brand new washing machine before – the first was, well to be quite honest, I am not even sure where it came from. It just was. When that one died on us, we bought a second, third or maybe even fourth hand one which I recall being so excited about because it had a baby function on – (no, not for washing your baby… but for baby clothes). When we moved in with my mother in law, her already having a washing machine lead to ours being re homed outside undercover. And, slowly over time, it became a toy for my toddler who would sneakily collect sand from the garden to pretend to use as the washing powder which he had been putting in the detergent draw. Oh the joys. Another one bites the dust – quite literally speaking!

SO… having been using my mother in laws front loader which is reasonably small – only being capable of dealing with a normal load of washing each time, meaning that I often felt like my washing pile never lessened, I was thrilled to be contacted by LG to receive and review one of their LG Smart Inverter Top Loader Washing Machines, especially because I was able to choose one that holds up to 17kg.

Having a hubby that is a carpenter, a toddler and dogs – I often feel that there are times where there is no other option but to WASH THE CLOTHES! There are times where my toddler wets his bed, he comes home from school with clothes that are filthy and with four dogs, I have to wash their bed covers. Hubbies clothes need to be washed as he has a physical job. The beauty of having the LG Top Loader that holds 17kg’s means that I am able to do one large wash once or at most twice a week.

With Cape Towns water crisis, I do feel that this is helpful. Although the washing machine does use more water due to its size, it also means that I cut down on washing as much as I used to! Which means that I do tend to use LESS water than what I was before. We try our utmost best to re wear our clothing as much as we possibly can before just tossing them in the wash. Denim I find lasts the longest which is great! And, with summer, clothing isn’t as bulky which means I can really fit almost a week of laundry in one wash! YES!

I chose the Silver Top Loader option purely because I feel that it fits in nicely with everything else in my home, and if we move someday, it is versatile.

Smart Motion:
Smart Motion is 3 kinds of motions created by Smart Inverter for optimized washing by fabric type.

Turbo Drum™:TurboDrum™ enables the most powerful wash and removes even the toughest dirt through strong water stream of rotating drum and pulsator in the opposite direction.

A few things I have come to love about my washing machine:

An embarrassing fact, I’m not sure you’d even think possible is that I have slammed my finger and my toddlers finger in our washing machine door. I’ve even dropped the lid of my parents top loader on my finger before, and it isn’t a pleasant experience. So I love that this Top Loader has a slow closing function. It automatically closes on its own when you push it downwards, in a way that WILL NOT hurt you or your toddler!

Having said the above regarding my toddler filling up my detergent drawer of my previous washing machine with sand and stones, I am so relieved the detergent drawer of my new LG Top Loader is in fact inside the washing machine and not accessible from the outside.

I truly do love that I can accumulate a good 3-5 days of laundry and can do it all in one go without feeling guilty about it.

Having boys that sure know how to mess on their clothes, which can be so frustrating, I have loved how little effort it now takes to remove stains and dirt from their clothing.

I also love that it has an Auto Restart function. Living in South Africa, you never know what tricks may be pulled, and a huge frustration is when the power goes off when you have a load of laundry on. With the LG Smart Inverter, it automatically restarts from the position it stops to adjust accordingly!

Standby Power Save: Even if the power cord is plugged in while power is off, only extremely little electricity will run through the washer. You don’t need to worry about wasted electricity.

Having a young baby or family – a washing machine can be a huge distraction or problem when trying to get them to sleep. I love that you barely know that your washing machine is on because it really is so quiet due to less vibration, however, it has higher durability.

Being a stay at home, work from home mom – I know how laundry can start to rule your life. I am loving the freedom that my 17kg Top Loader gives me. Having to only do laundry once or twice a week is a walk in the park! I can highly recommend getting either the 15kg or 17kg.

This feeling. It is intense. Thinking back to holding you as a newborn baby, I would have never thought that there would be days that I just did not like you. I feel guilty typing this, but I feel that somebody has to air the laundry.

My blood has boiled so many times over the past week that I feel any medical professional would tell me to take a step back because it’s dangerous to my health. I didn’t know that a human as tiny as you could be quite so powerful. How is it possible that I can say no to somebody my own age and stick to my guns, yet with you, a three year old – you have the power to somehow get me to sway.

I’ve been on my hands and knees wiping up spills since before the sun came up, and until after the sun went down. And, IT’S SUMMER! Which means that its light for more hours than it’s dark… I’ve muttered ‘Are you kidding me?’ more times than I can count. I’ve shouted, I’ve cried, I’ve had a migraine from your screeching, and I have even had to finish off your dirty work of shoving your poop down the drain in the bathroom basin because it was too far gone to save it. You woke me up this morning (on YOUR mattress on MY bedroom floor, might I add) after a sleepless night (because of you) by spraying me in the face with water from the handheld fan and spray bottle you somehow stole from your grandmothers bedroom. I have stood by the stove making your favourite pasta that you begged for to have you say that you are full after two bites purely because you insisted on hunting down a banana and a hot crossed bun that you shoved in before I could say ‘not before dinner’.

You know, this is motherhood. Some days suck. Some days I find myself laughing hysterically at the end of the day looking back on it, wondering if and how the day that has gone by could have actually happened, and then end up in a heap in tears because motherhood is a whirlwind of confusing emotions. I love you so much, but you also make me so mad sometimes.

But then, then you go to sleep. And I tiptoe in to tuck you in and give you your final kiss for the night, and that crazy, wild three year old boy who is just oh so independent now – he’s just an innocent little boy. Your resting body leaves your lips in the position that they were as a newborn baby. Your face angelic again. And I wonder how I allow myself to dislike something so perfect.

Some days I don’t like you. But, I will always love you – and there will be days as you grow up where you don’t like me either. It may be because I do something you don’t like or because I don’t allow you to do something you’re so wishing to do. Maybe I won’t let you go watch a movie with your friends because you have school the next day. There will be days where we simply disagree and bash heads.

But know, that I love you. I love you as big as the world. But, some days – I just don’t like you. Never misinterpret that. Dig deep in your heart to understand what that phrase truly means. And someday, when you are a parent – you will finally click and say: “Oh! That’s what she meant.”

Traveling with children can be quite a challenging task, but flying with kids is a whole other ball game. We haven’t had the opportunity to fly with my three and a half year old son yet, which we hope to do soon once we find some cheap return flights to Cape Town at the right time – however, I chatted to a few friends of mine as well as family who have flown with their kids of all different ages. Many of them having only done short trips, and then some family members who have had longer international flights.

For some, they found it to not be as bad as they thought it would be, and for others it was the complete opposite. Each gave their own personal tips that they found worked for them, but each of them gave one piece of advice that was the same for all of them – PREPARATION. Preparation is key for many things in life, but it will save your sanity when flying with kids.

Here are a few of my own tips you can try when preparing for a flight:

– Collect some special activities for your kids – things that can be done without making a mess. Be sure to keep these packed away until you are in the airport or on the plane. You want them to be kept occupied and entertained. Make sure you find activities that are not disruptive to other passengers on the plane. Worrying about your kids disturbing others can be stressful.

– Make sure you have packed a change of clothing for your kids. Meals on the planes can easily be knocked over or drinks can be spilled. You don’t want your child to be restless and irritable because they are uncomfortable.

– Do research on flights and try to find the best suitable time to fly with your young family. Try to pick a time that your little ones would nap, or at a time where they are usually well rested, if a short flight. You’ll be kicking yourself if you’ve chosen a bad time that throws you all off.

– Be sure to educate your kids on flying. Make sure that they understand that they need to be respectful of other passengers. Also try and make it an exciting and special thing so that they see it as something fun rather than something they dread or are afraid of.

– Something I learnt from traveling a lot as a child with my family is TIME MANAGEMENT. Leave home early so that you have plenty of time. There may be an accident or traffic which means that you will be unexpectedly late or left with limited time. You never know what may come up with young kids in tow, so rather have an extra hour to waste than having to rush around frantically once you arrive at the airport. There is nothing worse than feeling like you’re about to miss your flight!

– Double and triple check that you have everyones travel documents packed and in a safe place the night before, especially if you have a large family. Keep it all in one place so that it isn’t stressful when checking in and boarding.

Those are just a few of my tips, but see Travelstarts 10 Tips For Flying With Children below:

Flying with your children should be an exciting adventure – for me, I still look back on our family trips, and the ones that stood out to me most were when we got to fly. I can’t wait to do some traveling with my small family, and my son chats excitedly about all of his dreams of going on an airplane oneday.

I would love to hear your tips on traveling with children. If you have done some flying, do share your advice on what you found worked. Or even share some funny stories about what went terribly wrong.